Islamic Article |- All about Paradise - Jannah

What do you want most out of life? A nice house, expensive clothes,
money, wealth, opulence? What if you were told about a place where you
could get everything you wanted and keep it forever? What would you
say? Of course you would be very excited and want tosee this perfect
place right away. Surely no one would ever object to living in such a
wonderful place.
Now just think. Has anyone ever talked to you about a place filled
with a countless array ofblessings, where beauty is spread out at your
feet? Surely someone must have done so, telling you and all other
people about the existence of a life - the life of Paradise - where
everything that you want will be prepared for you. Everyone knowsthat
after death there is an endless Paradise. Everyone judged worthyto
enter it will find everything they desire there; they will receive
their rewards and blessings, and live in a perfect place surrounded by
beauty forever. To those faithfulservants who pass the test of this
earthly life, Allah has promised an unprecedented land. Thelimited
time one spends in this world, on the other hand, is an opportunity to
attain these beauties.
So what keeps people from being overcome with joy at the good news of
Paradise? What stops them from longingfor it, from expending every
effort to attain it? Why do people, knowing that they will receive
these blessings as a divine reward, not prepare for Paradise? Surely
the most important reason is that some people do not have an assured
faith that it exists; others are not convinced. There may be other
reasons why people do not believe in or have doubts about it. But the
basic thing that we mustconsider is that this doubt sometimes arises
from a lack of knowledge.
The only remedy for this lack of knowledge is the Qur'an.
In the Qur'an, Allah describes a wonderful life of perfect and endless
beauty in Paradise. Someone who does not know this beauty's extent or
how the Qur'an describes it may have difficulty envisioning Paradise
and the kind of life there.
This book tells people about Paradise, which Allah offers to them,
describes its great blessings, and proclaims its beauties to everyone.
It informs people that Paradise is one of two ways of life prepared
forthem in the afterworld, and that every good thing will be theirs in
Paradise to a degree that surpasses our present ability to imagine. It
also shows that Paradise, is a place where all blessings have been
created perfectly and where people will be offered everything their
souls and hearts will desire; that people will be far removed fromwant
and need, anxiety or sadness, sorrow and regret. Every kind of beauty
and blessing exists in Paradise and will be revealed with a perfection
never seen orknown before. Allah has prepared such blessings there as
a gift, and thesewill be offered only to people with whom He is
pleased.
This book describes everything about Paradise in the light of the
Qur'an's verses. So, as you read this information and try to envision
that blessed place, remember that the Qur'an is the truth. Based on
this information, consider the perfection of the real land that is
waiting for you, and make every effort to be worthy of it. Be aware
that Allah will give you all of these things by His grace, and that
they can be yours forever. Given all of this, if you still cannot
decide in favor of eternal beauty, remember that the only choice left
is Hell, a place full of anguish from where youwill observe the
comfort of those in Paradise and experience eternal anxiety, sadness,
misery, and sorrow.

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Moral stories |- Love is the Sole Purpose of our Creation (Love in Islam)

There is a famous divinesaying (HadithQudsi) which can probably be
found in all books written about the goal ofcreation in Islam.
According to this Hadith Qudsi, Allah (SWT) says: "I was a hidden
treasure; I loved to be known. Hence I created the worldso that I
would be known."
Allah (SWT) has created the world out of love. Thus, a question
arises: why did Allah (SWT) love to be known? Certainly, Allah (SWT)
has no desire for fame. The purpose behind His love to be known is
understandableby considering the fact that Allah (SWT) who is the
Wise, the Compassionate and the Merciful creates the universe and
particularly human beings to give them the maximum graceand perfection
that they have the capacity for receiving. Of course, the perfection
of any kind of being is decided by the degree of its similarity or
closeness to Allah (SWT), and the most important factors in this are
love of Allah (SWT), and prior to that knowledge of Allah (SWT), since
there can be no love without knowingthe beloved.
It is narrated in another Hadith Qudsi that when God loves someone, He
becomes his ears, his eyes, his tongue, and his hands: "When I love
him, then I shall be his ears with which he listens, his eyes with
which he sees, his tongue with which hespeaks, and his hands with
which he holds; if he calls Me, I shall answerhim, and if he asks Me,
I shall give him."
Similarly the way man has physical needs in life which he strives and
struggles to fulfill, the soul too has needs that must be satisfied.
These spiritual needs and urgeshave been placed by the hands of the
creator in the depths of the creation's soul. Man has anatural
inclination to find love and love in any form towards any object has
no valid reality except when it is for the sake of Allah (SWT). All
love directly or indirectly in some way, shape, or form is a man's
hope to be in reach of the ultimate perfection, which can be nobody
butAllah (SWT) - the Almighty.
God's love for the world in general and human beings in particular is
unanimously believed and emphasized by all Muslims. Indeed, one of the
God's names is al-Wadud, He who loves. Some non Muslims allege that
God in Islam is very strict and cruel God who demands to be obeyed
fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing can be farther from truth
than this allegation. It is enough to know that, with the exception of
one, each of the 114 chapters of the Noble Qur'an begins with the
verse: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate."
In one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) we are told that,"God
is more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child."
A young man came before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with a carpet and
said, "O prophet of Allah! I passedthrough a jungle and heard the
voices of young birds; and I took and put them into my carpet; and
their mother came fluttering around my head, and I uncovered the
young, and the mother fell downupon them, then I wrapped them up in my
carpet; and there are the young which I have."
Then Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said,"Put them down." And when he did so,
their mother joined them: and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "Do you
wonder at the affection of the mother towards her young? I swear by
Him who hath sent me, verily God is more loving to His creatures than
the mother to these young birds. Return them to the place from which
you took them, and let their mother be with them.

Moral stories |- Love for Allah (SWT), Lovefor God is the foundationof Islamic belief

The Noble Qur'an says:"The believers are stronger in their love for
Allah." (Surah Al-Baqara, 2:165)
According to Islamic teaching, the minimum expectation from believers
is that God should have the first place in their heart, in the sense
that no other love may override one's love for God; God should be the
highest and foremost object of love. The Noble Qur'an says:
Say: If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates
and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired, and the
slackness of trade which you fear and dwellings which you like, are
dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way,
then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not
guide the transgressing people. (Surah Al-Tawba, 9:24)
This verse clearly indicates that one's love for God has to be
superior to one's love for everything else that one may come to love
in one's life. This superiorityshows itself when the love for God and
for His religion comes in conflict with one's love for one's personal
belongings. In this case, a believer should be able to sacrifice his
personal favourite things for the sake of God. For example,if God asks
us to give our lives to protect innocent lives or our territorial
integrity or the like, we should not let our love for this world or
any other distraction i.e. family, wealth, power, etc. prevent us from
striving in His way. And nothing should come into conflict with our
love for God. The Noble Qur'an says:
Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his (one) body. (Surah
Al-Ahzab, 33:4)
Imam Ali (as) would always spend time with his children. Once he was
sitting in his house with his young children. Sayyida Zainab (sa) then
asked, "Dear, father, do you love me?" Imam Ali (as) said, "Yes, of
course, my children are like a part of my heart". On hearing this, she
said,"You also love Allah (SWT). How can two lovesbe in one heart of a
true believer, the love of Allah(SWT) and that of children?"
Imam Ali (as) smiled and replied, "Love Allah (SWT)and for the sake of
His love, you love His creatures; children and fellow beings too. I
love you for the sake of Allah (SWT)."
Hence love for God is the foundation of Islamic belief, the foundation
on which man is to establish the principles of his faith (Iman). Hence
with one heart one cannot choose two beloveds.
Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as) said once, "The heart is the sanctuary of
God, therefore do not settle therein anything but God."
Hadith Qudsi says,"Neither [the vastness of]My earth, nor [that of]
Myheaven can contain Me. Indeed it is the heart of the man of faith
which can contain Me."
Urdu Couplet says: Kaba Kitna Khush Kismat Hai, Ke Yeh Allah (SWT) Ka
Ghar Hai, Lekin Is Mein Allah Nahi Rehta, Momin Kaba Se Bhi Ziada
Khush Kismat Hai, Jis Ke Dil Mein Allah (SWT) Rehta Hai.
The history of Islam is fullof memories of those who embodied a
sincere and overwhelming love for God and His religion. One of those
who full-heatedly devoted himself to Islam was Bilal al-Habashi , a
black slave. The pagans of Quraysh in Makkah subjected him to torture
asking him to mention names of their idols express his belief in them
and disbelieve in Islam. They tormented him under the burning Sun by
laying him on scorching sand and putting heavy rocks on his chest. Abu
Bakr, a richcompanion (Sahabi) of Prophet Muhammad (saw), was passing
by when he heard the cry ofBilal. He went close and advised him to
hide his belief, but Bilal was not prepared to do so; since"love was
ever rebellious becomes deadly."
Another example love forIslam is Imam Hussayn ibn Ali (sa), who said:
"OhGod, I have left the worldin Your love. Am ready to make my
children orphans in Your love. My heart could not divert towards
anybody but You. Even if You cut my body into pieces in Your love."

Moral stories |- Love in Islam (Al-Hubb Al-Islam)

Every heart that is not aflame is no heart;
A frozen heart is nothing but a handful of clay.
O God! Give me a breast that sets ablaze,
And in that breast a heartand that heart consumed with fire.
In Islam, the concept of love is one of the most important concepts.
This fact manifests itself in Islamic philosophy, theology, mysticism
and ethics; indeed, in some aspects, it plays the crucial role. For
example, in defining the Islamic point of view on the relation between
God and Universe in general, and between God and Mankind in
particular, love has the most significant and profound place. Love is
so central in Islam that it is seep as"the firmest handhold of faith"
and "faith (Iman) isnothing but love for the sake of God and hate for
the sake of God".
Ibn Abbas reported that Messenger of Allah (Peaceand blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: "The strongest faith is to be sincere for the
sake of Allah, to hate for the sakeof Allah (Tabarra), to lovefor the
sake of Allah (Tawalla), and to discard for the sake of Allah."
There is a tendency among some people to think that there should be no
hate at all. These people assume that excellence and nobility
ofcharacter and "being sociable" consist of having all men one's
friends. Certainly Islam recommends Muslims to love people and
optimizecompassionate and sincere relationship with them, even if they
do not believe in Islam or in God. However, it is not feasible for a
person whohas principles in his life and has devoted his life to
realize sacred values to be indifferent to evil and oppressive deeds
of wrongdoers and make friendship with everybody. Such a
personcertainly will have some enemies, whether he likes it or not.
There are always good people in the society and bad people. Good and
bad are two opposite poles. Attraction towards the good is not
possible without repulsion from the bad.
When two human beings attract each other and their hearts wish for
them to be friends and companions with one another, we should look for
a reason for that. The reason is nothing other than similarity and
resemblance. Unless there is a similarity between these two persons,
they cannot attract one another and move towards friendship with each
other, as saying goes, Birds of same feather flock together.
Maulana Rumi in his Mathnavi mentions fine story that illustrate this fact.
The story relates to a wise man that saw a Raven who had formed
affection for a Stork. They perched together and flew together! The
wise man could not understand how two birds of two different species
that had no similarity either in shape or in colour with each other
could be friends. He went close and discovered that both of them had
only one leg.
The same idea is emphasized by Imams of the Household ( Ahlul Bayt )
of Prophet Muhammad (saw). For example, Fudayl ibn Yasar, a disciple,
asked Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as) whether love and hatred derive from
faith (Iman). Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (as) replied: "Is faith anythingbut
love and hate?"
It is also narrated that Imam al-Baqir (as) , stated that: Religion
(Deen) is love and love is religion.
As these statements and traditions indicate, love plays an important
and significant role. Hence it deserves our close attention in order
that we may discover the real meaning of the concept of love in Islam.
First of all, some questions come to the mind. What is the kind of
love that has been emphasized by Islam? Who is the object of this
special kind of love? Why should the believers havethis kind of love
and what purpose does it serve?
Love in Islam can be broadly categorized into:Love for God, love for
Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his Household (Ahlul Bayt), and love for
the faithful.

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